Your Stars January 2020

Dear reader, this month’s stars are longer than usual as I want to give you a brief overview of the year ahead.

The first rule of 2020 is- Don’t shoot the messenger. It’s an astrologer’s duty to declare when the skies are dark and foreboding. The second rule of 2020 is, don’t shoot anyone else. The cycle of Saturn and Pluto in which we are in the midst, has an alarming history; take your pick from the Great war of 1914, the great depression of 1931, the partition of India and Palestine in 1947, and the 9/11 attacks of 2001. When Saturn and Pluto are side by side or in opposition, humanity seems to lose its way and be overtaken by schism, violence and repression.

One doesn’t need to look far to find that view validated; suppressive nationalists and monomaniacs currently govern most of the world, democracy is non-existent or on the ropes in China, Russia, India, Brazil, Hungary and elsewhere. Perhaps even in the disunited United Kingdom. Professor Richard Tarnas, one of astrology’s most perceptive commentators, like Saturn/Pluto to ‘radical conservatism’, to ‘the totalitarian impulse’ and to a climate of fear, scapegoating and positions of absolutism. Sounds familiar. And, of course, to war.

The key question is not what is going on but whether we have reached the peak of what Saturn/Pluto brings. Their only conjunction arrives in Capricorn on January 13, but this is a transit that sprawls across a couple of years, so the worst may be past. Mars, ‘Bringer of War’, is uncomfortably mixed-up with Saturn/Pluto in the autumn and may prove that possibility wrong.

Still, we’re already in the midst of a war, the one involving climate change. The politicians may be looking the other way – Australia’s PM taking a vacation as his country burns is a prime example – but this war is not going away and 2019/20 looks like the date that it was truly declared. The ‘dwarf planet’ Ceres representing mother nature (it’s the only asteroid that is spherical, fact fans, thus enhancing its claims to significance), is in the midst of that Saturn/Pluto/Jupiter mix.

The year ends on a more upbeat note, as Jupiter and Saturn move on from Capricorn to meet in Aquarius, a sign more attuned to the collective, and to democracy.

I wish all my readers a very happy and prosperous new year.

Major Events in January

Full Moon (and partial lunar eclipse) in Cancer: January 10 at 19.21 GMT

Capricorn

We’re at peak Capricorn. Saturn and Pluto are at one of their historic conjunctions in the Goat’s skies. Jupiter has just arrived there for a year’s stay. Your birthday season arrived with a Solar Eclipse on December 26, along with a full Moon partial lunar eclipse on January 10. Mars, exalted in your sign, is due in mid-February. This is not, for sure, an uneventful star-scape, rather one of big events and decisions, the sort that members of your sign are good at shaping and making.

Saturn, whose presence this year is chiefly on birthdays between January 11 and 20, moves on to Aquarius at the end of the year, and spends April through June trying out the Urn Bearer for size; a happy Spring when the pressure lifts. This year all Goats are completing a cycle than began two years back when Saturn arrived in your skies. In 2020 you are duty bound to complete the mission- those big decisions about career, property, family, age, heritage. Completion and resolution are a big part of the year’s stars. Officialdom, providing you honour it, is on your side.

Your totem animal is a more ambiguous creature than often painted. Is it the flinty, self-interested mountain climber, or the more sensuous, fish-tailed Sea Goat? And what about the able patriarch or matriarch, to whom the clan turn when they need a bail-out? You get to choose your identity this year, especially during that Mars’ transit in March, when others may need to feel the force of your passion…or displeasure. The days around March 19-21, when Mars passes Jupiter and Pluto, call for a cool head.

Favouring the Sea Goat is Jupiter, a jovial force that can lighten your load and refresh your stock of droll jokes; Capricorn the comedian is an underestimated quality. Also swimming with the Capricornus is planet Prometheus, an ongoing presence in kindred earth sign Taurus, and sweetly aligned to December birthdays this year. This is a planet of revolution but as much is not being forced on you; rather, it’s an option to take your interests and even geographical location to a new place. Capricorn’s earth is not just about loot; nature, horticulture, architecture and masonry are part of the Goat’s matrix and the link to Taurus is an invitation to get involved in the eco-revolution that’s gathering speed. Scientific and technical prowess, along with management skills, are valuable assets; Capricorns are good at giving grand ideas physical form.

A Saturn transit is often associated with a relationship crash-and-burn, but in general the year’s stars don’t lean heavily on partnerships and romances. The solar eclipse on the Summer Solstice, June 21, is a potential game-changer, and with a retrograde Mercury opposite, dealings with significant others look a tangle then. With an overload of planets in your skies, however, you are something of an energy magnet. March is a romantic hotspot, as Venus teams up with Prometheus. If you’re single, the eccentric choice may prove the most exciting.

Along the way you have to handle the spiky business of Mars spending six months at the bottom of your solar ‘scope and squaring your Sun. This may signify nothing more than noisy repairs at Capricorn Towers, but any hotheads in the family, or at work for that matter, may call for a blunt response. Nest year’s birthday arrives with Saturn and Jupiter moved on; a very different feel for 2021.

Aquarius

Here’s a year to relish. As much may not be apparent at its beginning and an overload of planets in your twelfth house, something one might associate with a meditation retreat, or a duvet-over-the-head response to the calls of duty. Keeping the balance between action and repose is certainly a challenge in 2020, but one assisted by the planetary timetable.

Your momentum builds by degrees. Venus in your skies until January 16 is a sweet starter, then comes the Aquarius new Moon on January 24, with a stutter of Mercury retrograde early in March. So far, so routine. The arrival of Saturn and Mars late in March is of another order. Saturn, your ruler, hasn’t been here since, oh, 1991. The planet of good order is merely dress rehearsing for three months this year, prior to its full move into Aquarius in late December, but birthdays circa January 21-23 can expect a nudge to put their house in order (perhaps literally). A good moment to deal with officialdom, or to make a creative statement.

Warrior Mars racing through your skies for six weeks adds some provocation to events; feel free to get pushy. This year you further have the delights (it says here) of Venus spending four months in Gemini and your fifth house of recreation, partying and romance. This is quite the ticket for hot dating, though Venus’s retrograde – May 13 – June 25 might give you (or the other party) cause for second thoughts. Dates or not, Spring is a season of promise, worthy of your best shot.

As much applies to your home and career. January birthdays are in the sights of Prometheus, a planet of sudden change, disruption even, when the chance of a career move, or relocation may unexpectedly arrives; a theme that is strongest until August. Prometheus has an affiliation to your sign, linked to your willingness to march out of step and to be, shall we say, highly individuated. A good season, then, for the space cadets among you.

By the time Prometheus turns tail in high summer, warrior Mars is ensconced in fiery Aries, a happy position for an air sign like yourself, conducive to expanding your social network or beefing up your Twitter following. You sail out of 2020 in fine style, with Saturn and Jupiter simultaneously arriving to conjoin in your skies on the Winter Solstice of December 21, truly the beginning of a new chapter. Be ready.

Pisces

It’s a helter-skelter year from the start. Six weeks of Mars marching across the roof of your ‘scope demands attention to career and particularly to any waspish characters who think they can push you around. You don’t need to over-engage with them as the tide of planets in earthy Capricorn favours you as team player and network builder. Here you appear to have massive support, and with ruler Jupiter in the skies of the Goat all year, allies and mentors will surely be forthcoming. All you have to do is to stay as industrious as Saturn while being as clubbable as Jupiter. If you fancy taking charge of the group presidency or captaincy of the ship, your stars are amenable. You can play small ‘p’ politics.

Three weeks of Venus in your skies – January 14- February 7 – is the cue to turn the ‘charm’ dial up to ’11’ – the goddess is, after all, ‘exalted’ in Pisces. Pile on the style. You also have a couple of months of Mercury in your skies from early February and while the Messenger’s retrograde phase – February 17-March 19 is reliably irksome, you remain in control. careful what you promise. The new Moon of February 23 is a handy omen for birthdays then.

Fishes born circa March 9-11 have Neptune to negotiate during its seemingly endless trawl through Piscean skies. As your astrologer has pointed out before, Neptune is a planet of charisma, but also delusion – this is very much the planet of fame and film stars, along with the dark side of Tinseltown and showbiz – so best not suck its lollipop too hard.

Several events give spring an unusual flavour. From April through July Venus is squaring you from Gemini as it does one of its periodic retrogrades, a fine time to be giving Pisces Acres a make-over, or to do much the same for your CV. Appearances count, even if they involve a shake of Neptunian fairy dust. Great time for creatives, rewrites, reshoots and reboots notwithstanding. Mars arrives in your skies in mid-May through June to renew your momentum. Allied to the Sun in your fellow water sign Cancer, you can reach your targets now (though another Mercury retrograde is involved). Venus finally escape Gemini in August to raise your chance of summer romance or simply enjoy harmony with your man squeeze. In terms of relationships, you have endured far more problematic years.

Mars in your zone of ready cash is a regular event, but one that normally lasts six weeks, not six months, as in 2020. Chance to make more readies? For sure, but also the cue to use what you have to put your life in the order you want.

Aries

The image of the frisky Ram charging ahead, leading from the front, is appealing and not without merit, and in the latter half of 2020 seems, with caveats, highly appropriate to your stars. However, you begin the year under the demanding presence of heavyweight planets in Capricorn, suggesting that for the moment you have to accept the status quo with your career and make strategic deals with those in power. With luck, the combination of Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter may see your elevation up the professional slippery pole, but surely not without relentless effort and taking on more responsibility.

The picture is fluid, however, and often entertaining. Your ruling planet, Mars, spends the first six weeks of the year in fellow fire sign Sagittarius, widening horizons, calling in international contacts (or enjoying long haul travel), and bringing in supportive folks onside. Venus in your skies for most of February favours a charm offensive and, if it’s on your agenda, some agreeable dates (perhaps you are proving more agreeable to them than vice versa). Mars roaring overhead during March tips the attention back to career, where a slugging match with an enemy or a powerful ally (maybe both) is signalled by the meeting of Mars and Jupiter just before the spring equinox. The new Moon in Aries on March 24 quickens the pace and points to a less confrontational few weeks, when Mars is transiting your zone of allies and fellow travellers. Simultaneously, Saturn movies into the same zone for three months, when pressure lifts and you can be more of a team player, a role calling in 2012.

You can drift happily with the currents through Spring, when Venus will be spending four months back and forth in airy Gemini offering a full and varies social life and, if you’re in the dating game, multiple opportunities for flirtation.

The mood can’t but change come midsummer, often a hiccup in your personal affairs, but with ruler Mars moving into your skies for six long months, a time of empowerment. You look supercharged through high summer and Leo’s fiery month; parties, adventures, romances and creativity are all lined up as Mars courses through your skies. The red planet’s retrograde phase, from mid-September to mid-November, is another matter. More personal quests may have to take a back seat as you deal with Saturn-related issues; bosses, property and the like. While your instincts may be to force matters, it’s more appropriate to reconsider and reset your agenda. Complete whatever tasks remain unfinished.

You enter the final stretch of 2010 on a triumphant note, ready for the historic conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in Aquarius at the winter solstice and a year when the solitary Ram will be surrounded by fellow travellers.

Taurus

The Bull’s instinct, to carry on as before, to carry on regardless, is admirable, but over a year when planetary patterns fluctuate, you’ll need to be on your toes and alert to opportunities that knock once and don’t return. Saturn and Pluto dominate the skies but are not in a confrontational position to your sign. Rather, it seems that you can work with authority figures and ‘the system’ to your advantage.

Your noted powers of endurance are a huge asset in the early and later parts of 2020; maintain focus your goals and consider the close of the year a handy deadline to tie off projects; 2021 and beyond have a more demanding programme, one that you may glimpse during Saturn’s three moths hover at the peak of your ‘scope – April through June.

The planet setting the agenda for many Bulls is Prometheus, a planet christened ‘The Awakener’ by Gustav Holst. It started its seven-year tenure in the bull 18 months back, but in 2020 is moves steadily through the gears until autumn. Prometheus is a planet of surprise, shock even, when events and people show up out of the blue, when personal liberty becomes more important than saluting the company flag, when you decide that dull ol’ Mr or Ms Reliable is less interesting than a gallant eco-warrior. Social and political ideals are often triggered under Prometheus. Slumber is, obviously, the Awakener’s enemy.

Romance and relationships go hand in hand with ruler Venus, which behaves normally early in the year, occupying your skies during March, when its magic touch is with you. Thereafter Venus spends four months in Gemini, in your house of resources and ready money. At best you can use this transit to pull in more of the folding stuff and alchemise it to solve a few problems (getting out of debt being the primary one!). Gemini is a clever, tactical sign and you should follow suit with your finances.

Weirder and more puzzling is the long, six-month residency of Mars in Aries over 2020’s second half. Mars is powerful here in its own sign, yet somewhat confined by its twelfth house position. A retreat on a martial arts course would fit the frame! There’s an element of seclusion and duty involved, but you are also recharging batteries ready for the demands of 2021, which kick in promptly when Mars finally reaches your skies at the close of this year. Don’t cancel Christmas but be ready to roll the moment afterwards.

Gemini

Being born under the Twins means you always have options (‘What do you say to that, Tweedledum?’ ‘I agree, Tweedledee’). For large portions of 2020 you have mega-options, meaning even you may find it hard to keep track of the right decision. First, however, consider the more intractable demands of your ‘scope. Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter in your eighth house put finances firmly in the frame throughout the year, a trio whose bottom line is a sustainable pattern of income and outgoing.

If as much is in place it may be a matter of where you allocate your wealth – what is it buying for you? – and for reaching accord with how you and others split the bills (most obviously that’s about your partner though others may figure). If you can sort that out before your birthday so much the better. Saturn will be back in the second half of the year to make sure yours sums are right.

Also, somewhat intractable is Mars in opposition during the year’s opening six weeks. This is a regular cycle, but regularly awkward too, unless it coincides with the arrival of a dashing warrior to woo you. More customary are disagreements with your main squeeze and a spat or two with those you consider your open rivals and enemies (ex’s perhaps). The opening three months of the year offer a jumble of influences; ruler Mercury in retrograde at the peak of your scope, for example, looks like someone at work blowing hot and cold.

April is when things hot up, as Venus reaches your skies for four months (count ’em), to perform an elaborate dance with a retrograde phase stretching across your birthday month. Venus is goddess of romance and relationships, sensuous and harmonious. Also, lazy, lustful and fond of cheap bling! You can carve out your own priorities from that list but include a flash birthday party – when you got it, flaunt it as they say. If you are a creative Gemini, this is when you find your best photograph, scribble your new volume of verse or splash an inspired canvas.

Midsummer, often a go-slow in your affairs, doesn’t much dent your style this year (despite a Merc Ret). By the time Venus has moved on, Mars has moved on to a congenial position for the rest of the year. Mars in Aries doesn’t boast the charm of Venus in Gemini, but it brims with options, socially and professionally. Sometimes it’s good to run with the pack, to be one among equals, and, of course, to dash restlessly between your fellow travellers with news and views. A few weeks of retrograde Mars makes little difference. The season of airy Libra is invariably an asset, and with Venus there in November, you can extend your summer season well into the autumn.

The close of the year brings a major shift in the planets, as Jupiter and Saturn meet in the third air sign, Aquarius, to set your course for 2021, when exploration is your theme; new ideas, new horizons, new ways of living.

Cancer

You of all signs should know the score about midwinter, when the Sun in the Sea Goat puts you halfway to your birthday and somewhat on the back foot. Then there is the full Moon in Cancer – January 10 this year – which can be a bit of an uncomfortable, wriggly moment, especially this year when it’s also an eclipse, a weekend, and bang opposite Saturn, the very planet that’s put so many Cancerians under the hammer over the last two years. Potentially a moment of reckoning then…

Much depends on your birthday Sun (and any other planets you may have in The Crab). The good news is that in 2020 Saturn is heading for the exit door, and has already finished, pretty much, with birthdays prior to 13 July. The opening three months of the year present challenge for the rest of you. No matter the issue – job, property, age-related – Saturn always demands an organised, thorough and pragmatic response. Three months with the planet out the way, April, May, June, is a valuable breathing space. A retrograde Mercury in your skies, June 18-July 13 -, ensures you slow down and re-evaluate. A solar eclipse at the new Moon on June 21, Midsummer’s Day, is a further hint that you are wrapping up a chapter. From your birthday to the end of the year, Saturn completes its opposition. Don’t be tempted to start new projects until you have the current task done and dusted.

Further good news comes in the shape of Jupiter, now in opposition until December, inviting frolics with significant others (existing or new relationships), liberation from those that have turned stale, and a strengthening of the bonds of true partnership. Give a bit of credit and freedom to those to whom you are, one way or another, bound. Or drop off the key, Lee, and set yourself free. Six weeks of Mars alongside Jupiter – through April to mid-May – should help make up your mind.

You are under less searching stars in early 2020, with kindred water sign Pisces prominent in the mix. It helps to know if you have planets in Gemini, as the romance goddess spends four months in the Twins prior to reaching your own skies in August (add an extra month to your birthday celebrations!). Venus here can be secretive, or may involve some selfless devotion, but it will be a mild relief when she moves on.

The other lengthy retrograde of the year is mars, which spends the latter half of the year in Aries, at the peak of your ‘scope. Since the warrior planet is awkwardly aspected to Saturn, this could be an especially demanding period for your career; one way or another, under criticism or not, pull out all stops to get a major job completed before the winter solstice.

Leo

Leo has a comparatively simple job description; to wear the crown (you know it’s yours), yet in 2010 it’s other people who must be considered; your subjects if you like, or even those who consider themselves your equal, or again individuals to whom you are inexplicably attracted or with whom you are inextricably bound up in a long term relationship. Maybe even your declared enemy (the nerve of some people!).

In some respects, 2020 is a year more favourable to your noble sign, though you will be called on to ‘put in a shift’ as the footballers put it, and here a super-organised infrastructure/routine is important. With Saturn and Jupiter in your sixth, busking it is a poor option.

Yet protracted spells of planets in air signs, and kindred fiery Aries, make for a more social, people-oriented year. Aquarius – your complementary sign – is busy from day one until your birthday. Venus in opposition until mid-January is a mere opener, followed by a new Moon in the Urn Bearer on January 24 and full Moon in Leo on March 9, when you lions can cavort in the limelight, and only the law can stop you.

Saturn arrives in opposition in late March with a three-month taster of what’s to come in 2021 and 2022, when the taskmaster planet is in prolonged opposition. (Ouch! Though all the more reason to get yourself ship-shape now). Birthdays July 22-24 are those in Saturn’s sites. Almost simultaneously Mars reaches Aquarius for a six-week opposition that will require you to be on your mettle and not treat friends and enemies with royal disdain.

If that isn’t enough to make you think about relations with your main squeeze, December’s historic conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius should do the trick over 2021.

For singles comes four months (April to July) of Venus doing somersaults in Gemini, for you a zone of networking, fellow travellers, fast friends and fast dates. Circulate accordingly – Venus’s retrograde – May 13 to June 25 – gives you time to ponder the many phone numbers you have collected; a more introvert phase perhaps.

Mars spends the second half of 2020 in fiery Aries, which is neither on the relationship front nor off it. It’s certainly a social transit, perhaps helped along by an epic voyage down the Zambezi, a congregation of fellow scholars or a long-distance love affair. One way or another, explore.

One might say as much about planet Prometheus, still lurking at the peak of your ‘scope as the year begins but about to square the Suns of all July Leos and birthdays August 1-2. It’s difficult to prepare for this transit since it is by nature surprising, perhaps a bolt from the blue. At the least you might consider if there is not a better way to steer your career, perhaps in an altogether different direction.

Virgo

Feeling lucky? Give it a try. While other signs quake at handling Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter in pushy Capricorn, for Virgo they represent something of a harvest. Granted, that planetary trio is not exactly the picture of plump apples and golden grain conjured up by your symbol, The Corn Maiden. More like the results of relentless hard work whose seed moment may lie way back in 2007-8, when Saturn was in Virgo. Whatever, a pile-up of planets in your fifth house (throughout the year) is supportive, though like a good Virgo you must put in the graft and commitment, whether to a project or a romance (likely a serious one). Creative enterprises have a following wind. The powers that be, the establishment, seem oddly receptive to your advances.

Not that 2020 gets off to a faultless start. Mars is somewhat in the way for the first six weeks of the year, hopefully signalling nothing more than a clumsy moment (or noisy builder). There is, nonetheless, entertainment on offer; when an exalted Venus is opposite, (January 14-February 7) so is attraction. An exalted Mars, between mid-February and late March, likewise promises a plethora of social and romantic action; stay on the front foot, even though the season of Pisces, your opposite sign, is usually not your easiest month of the year.

The annual Virgo full Moon, over February 8/9, may prove a bump in the road, being mixed up with Neptune, whose seemingly endless opposition is focused this year on September 8-11 birthdays; equally good for a major crush or a delusional relationship. You may need to draw a few boundaries if your willingness to help others is not to be exploited.

A further pair of unusual transits also need to be negotiated. In mid-May Venus halts to perform a retrograde near the peak of your ‘scope, the place here you are most on public view (usually via one’s job). Four months of Venus here, from April through July, certainly calls for a high profile, with bags of grace under pressure to accompany it. Give jealous colleagues a wide berth where possible.

Venus doesn’t reach Virgo’s skies until October for a sweet three week stay. By then you are halfway through Mars’ protracted six month stay in Aries. This falls at an oblique angle of your chart – congratulations, you just ducked a few bullets! – and highlights money matters, especially those you share with your spouse or similar. The red planet, strong in its own sign, also signifies emotional intensity and, uh, hot sex. Yup, you, the Virgo.

Finally, there’s Prometheus, active in the earth sign of Taurus, inviting (but not insisting) on new realms of intellectual and cultural interest, most notably for August birthdays. Unexpected international connections – perhaps an intriguing foreign trip – also feature under this transit.

Libra

Over the last two years Saturn’s transit across the nadir of your ‘scope has put many Librans under pressure (ask Theresa May b. 1/10/1956). Birthdays up until October 18 have all felt its touch, though whether that has brought a bout of the blues or promotion (Saturn loves success – but you earn it the hard way) is a moot point. Either way, you remain ‘under heavy manners’ as reggae lyrics put it, obliged to do whatever is necessary to complete your mission/get out of a hole. Birthdays after October 18 are the prime candidates this year.

As much may not suit all Libran temperaments, but there is little time to admire your interior decor or even schmooze the social scene for compliments (we’ll come onto that). Get the damn job done.

Although we are at peak Saturn and peak Capricorn, the mood is not unrelenting, at least in the first half of the year. This very month, January, your Venus ruler enjoys the skies of Aquarius until January 13, ideal for socialising, with the new Moon of January 24 an important time to sow the seeds of future success. Aquarius, an air sign like your own, represents joy and fertility in your solar ‘scope, and is a growing force in your affairs. Saturn moves there for a brief three-month spell, April through June, a boom time, especially given the simultaneous dance of your Venus ruler in the third air sign, Gemini.

Venus spends four months in the Twins as it completes its retrograde phase, an exploratory, dynamic position for you, though said retrograde (May 13-June 25) implies twists in the plot, not least where lovers are concerned (including reappearances). In June and July with Mercury also retrograde, events slow down.

Not for long, however. From July you enjoy – or should that be tolerate? – six months of warrior Mars in opposition, as it too, completes a retrograde cycle. Mars in Aries, its own sign, is potent. Its presence in your house of significant others – partners, lovers, spouses, ex’s, friends, open enemies and all stripes between – requires deft handling. Play the peacemaker while enjoying the presence of lively others, half-crazy though they may be (and sexy with it). Avoid open warfare, your opponent likely outpunches you. If you can find a just balance between you and the other party – say during your birthday month – you can forge a special relationship. Harmony is meant to be Libra’s thing, n’est-ce pas? Venus in your skies October 28-November 22 – is a great emollient, and very schmoochy. Enjoy.

Scorpio

Was 2019 a year of consolidation or revolution? Broadly speaking, the planetary action in Capricorn has favoured the former, a period of grounding and orientation to achievable goals that also applies to 2020. Whether that has been accompanied by an increase in prosperity is debatable – Jupiter in your cash zone can be a spendthrift – but Jupiter has now moved on to re-enforce the ‘achievable aims’ programme of Saturn. Since more arduous challenges lie just a year ahead, use 2020 to shore up what you have achieved.

The acquisition of new skills is highlighted by Jupiter in your third. This is the house of communications, making you a personal beacon of hope over the airwaves and across cyberspace. Public talking, podcasts, super-blogging and the like are all in favour. The Mercury retrograde between June 18 and 12 July is the time to repair and upgrade your kit and blow the dust-off old manuscripts. Another mercury retrograde, from October 14 to November 3 – involves your own skies and is likewise a point of reflection and amendment.

For some Scorpios, there is revolution in the air, perhaps already a done deal. A transit of planet Prometheus is always likely to spring surprises; sudden changes of heart, unexpected offers, arresting newcomers. The maverick planet moved into opposition in 2018, though it will take seven years to complete its passage through your opposite sign of Taurus. Thus far, birthdays between October23-29 have been in the, uh, firing line. In 2020 all birthdays up to November 2 get a jolt of Promethean electricity. Scorpio, like its opposite number Taurus, is not gung-ho for change but under these stars you may have to dump evolution for revolution. You get a cooling-off period after August.

There is also heavyweight planetary activity at the root of your ‘scope, where Saturn crosses into Aquarius for three months, April through June, and arrives here again in December. You then have two and a half years (as Saturn squares your Scorpio Sun) when big decisions you made back in 2013/14 come up for in-depth assessment. Meanwhile you can make sure everything is on track as intended. If you are looking to change career or move house, Spring could be your moment. Your ruling planet, Mars, spends the second half of 2020 in your sixth house of diligent work and good health practice. All you have to do is follow suit.

Sagittarius

Give a gracious nod to your ruling planet, Jupiter, which has just spent the last year in your, and its, own sign; always a positive omen, so acknowledge the positives that have arisen over 2019; the good times, the travel, the liberation, the ‘lucky’ breaks and windfalls (for which you in fact worked hard!) and any trophies acquired. 2020 doesn’t come quite so fortuitously starred, though it certainly looks busy, especially for romance and relationships.

And money. Cash. The folding stuff. Its acquisition and its ebb and flow. Jupiter is in Capricorn, your house of resources, through to the winter solstice on December 22, raising the chance that pennies and pounds from heaven will rain upon you. Said chances are made slimmer by the dominance of Saturn and Pluto alongside Jupiter. Instead, Saturn demands you show full mastery of your finances, whether by greater acquisition or frugality. Being blasé about material concerns is a no-no. It’s a good month and year to put property matters in motion. What’s on the other side of the hill, once Jupiter moves on to Aquarius, is greater freedom – absolutely the Centaur’s thing.

Aquarius, a sign prominent in 2020’s affairs and beyond, promises some early tastes of liberty. Venus here until mid-January and Mercury thereafter are good for stirring the social pot. Likewise, the new Moon of January 24. To add va-va-voom to your play comes Mars, in your skies from January 3 to February 15. Mars equals energy but of a sort that requires focus if the red mists are not to rise and offence given (however unintentionally). Heaven knows you have enough tasks.

Because you are a creature of fire (mutable fire fact fans), activity in air and fire signs is good news. You burn brighter. Notable in 2020’s outlook are the activities of Venus and Mars, the goddess of attraction spending three months in opposition from Gemini, followed by Mars in Aries for the following six months. These are relationship planets – touchy and feely – in your ‘scope’s relationship zones, both spending unusually long periods here because of their retrograde cycles. Planets in retrograde imply a change of plan, perhaps a reverse, time for a rethink. Venus in opposition supplies head-turning attraction nonetheless and is tangled up with the Sagittarius full Moon of June 5 – quite the wild weekend.

Six months of Mars in your fifth looks like an epic love affair, or a phase of unbridled creativity, however you care to define it. An element of public performance – simple showing off if you like – is involved. Explorer types are well served, not least by the seasons of Leo and your own birthday month. Burn brighter.